One of the things I will do for our kitchen is cover all of the shelves with Formica–which is thicker and nicer and much more durable than anything that would be done in Melamine. Then, to finish them off, I will face them with wood that matches the cabinets. That’s some “wow.” How much will it cost? I haven’t done it yet, so I don’t know. But let us suppose, just to make this equal, that the extra cost for that–even for those who would commission the work–comes to exactly what it would cost for the Hafele Le Mans corner pullout you mentioned.

I saw that pullout when you were working on that particular kitchen, and you are absolutely right in saying that it is one slick piece of equipment. But it really doesn’t store any more than would be stored with my much-maligned drawer bank idea. As a matter of fact, it stores less. Yes, it is slick. No, it does not make a positive addition to the kitchen.

Instead, I would advocate–for us, at least–the shelf configuration I have outlined above. It does two things: adds some “wow” and does a better job than regular shelves, because they will be much easier to keep clean.

That happens to be our hot button, but others commissioning a kitchen will surely have things they prefer. Maybe it’s a second sink for food preparation. Or drawers instead of shelves in the base cabinets, thereby making it easier to get to pots and pans.

We all have budgets, excepting only those who have so much money that they can afford a kitchen so big and so glorious that it has no blind corners. But for most of us, a kitchen involves a fair amount of picking and choosing because we simply cannot afford everything we would want for it. That being the way of it, I strongly feel people should simply “do the math,” as I did, on base cabinets. If they do, I think they will pass up the various “blind corner solutions” and spend the money thus saved on something a bit more useful.

If I were remodeling my own kitchen again I think I would add them just to sell more kitchens!

Joe